This book was supposed to be something else entirely. Originally titled Come Cruise with Me, minus the COVID-related subtitle, it was to serve as a travelogue in celebration of the joys of cruise vacations, and also as a guide for cruise-goers looking to get the most out of their first or next cruise. Then came the shelter-in-place orders. When cruise companies began canceling voyages, author Greg Stamm had to ask himself if he could possibly be crazy enough to finish his manuscript during this time of international crisis.

The answer is yes. Greg Stamm is crazy enough.

Rather than shelving his manuscript, he reshaped it. Now he intended to make the case that cruise vacations would not suffer long-term, but rather, they would improve as a result of pandemic-related safety measures. He would make this case as a person who isn't employed by, incentivized by, or a shareholder in any company associated with the cruise or travel industries. As an independent observer, he would report on the fifty-plus cruises he had taken over the course of his life and compare those experiences to his first cruises in the new normal. All he needed was for that first cruise to launch. In June 2021, he and thousands of other eager passengers got their wish. This book shares his insights into what cruising is like in a Post-COVID world. Along the way, it is sure to delight, surprise, entertain, and inform even those most cruise-skeptical readers. Cruises have always been the best, safest, and most luxurious vacations a person can take. Today, Stamm is happy to report that this is truer than ever before.